‘The Reaper’ slays USMTS foes at I-35 Speedway

WINSTON, Mo. (July 12) – Ryan Gustin took the lead from Chris Brown with eight laps to go, and then sailed to his fourth USMTS National Championship Series victory of the season Thursday night at the I-35 Speedway in Winston, Mo.

Brown led the first 32 laps from the pole position, but midway through the 40-lapper Gustin began to reel in the Spring, Texas, speedster from his outside fourth row starting spot.

‘The Reaper’ was on Brown’s rear bumper when the third and final caution waved on lap 31. Two laps later, the 21-year-old from Marshalltown, Iowa, executed his patented rim-riding style around the high-banked 3/8-mile oval and pulled ahead as they came to the flagstand to complete the 33rd lap.

From there, Gustin padded his advantage to take the $4,000 top prize with his a 1.499-second cushion over Brown. The 54th win of his USMTS career was his sixth overall in 2012 and third in his last six starts as he now holds a healthy lead in the points chase.

Johnny Scott held off Zack VanderBeek for the third spot while Jon Tesch came from 12th on the starting grid to earn the final top-5 finishing position. Sixth through tenth were Dereck Ramirez, Jason Hughes, Stormy Scott, Rodney Sanders and Chase Junghans.

Richie Gustin passed 12 competitors to finish 11th in his first night out in the TC Motorsports #0 machine, but Sanders took home the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award for finishing two spots higher after also passing a dozen drivers.

KANSAS CITY HERE WE COME …

For thousands of race fans, Friday the 13th is their lucky day as the USMTS National Championship Series invades the historic Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the first time in series history for the inaugural Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning Summer Sizzler presented by Arbor Masters.

In addition to the USMTS Modifieds waging a battle for a $5,000 top prize, the event will also feature the Iron Man Challenge featuring USRA B-Mods presented by Kaw Valley Sand & Gravel. Local Factory Stocks will also be in action.

Thanks to events sponsors Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning and Arbor Masters, an additional $1,000 has been added to the published purse. Of that amount, $500 will go to the highest-finishing driver that has never won a USMTS event, while $300 goes to the second-best finisher and $200 for the driver finishing third among those with no previous USMTS victories.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 13. Hot laps begin at 7 and the first heat race gets the green flag at 7:30.

The Lakeside Speedway is a 3/8-mile slightly-banked dirt oval located 1.0 mile west of I-435 (exit 18) on SR 5 (northwest of Kansas City, Kan.). The track hotline is 913-299-2040 or check them out the track’s official website at www.lakesidespeedway.net.

This titanic tripleheader weekend wraps up on Saturday with the USMTS road warriors returning to the Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla.

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.